Senso

Senso (1954) was Luchino Visconti's dramatic break with neo-realism; from here on he'd be associated with lavish epics. Then Italy's most expensive film, Senso flopped domestically and barely gained foreign release. A butchered version retitled The Wanton Countess, with English dialogue co-written by Tennessee Williams (!), got periodic TV play without recognition. Two years ago Criterion gave it a handsome restoration, leading some critics to proclaim it a rediscovered masterpiece.

Hardly. Like all Visconti films, Senso is a sensory feast. But it's ultimately a trite melodrama kept afloat by technical skill and spectacle.

Venice 1866. Italian nationalist Roberto (Massimo Girotti) provokes a duel with Austrian Lt. Mahler (Farley Granger). Roberto's cousin Livia (Alida Valli), an unhappily-married Countess, tries to avert their conflict but falls for Mahler. She envisions the Lieutenant as a dashing Adonis, ignoring evidence that her lover is a two-timing lout. When Austria and Italy go to war, Livia provides Mahler money (collected for Roberto's underground movement) to desert, only to be betrayed yet again. Disgusted and disillusioned, she finally turns against her lover.

Senso works best in its early scenes. Visconti impeccably recreates 19th Century Venice, from the La Fenice theater to handsome period dresses and uniforms. G.R. Aldo provides gorgeous photography, whether of the elaborate curtain raising opera or the country estates. The simple romance plot works well at first, portraying two flawed, selfish people ensnared in a tawdry affair.  Alida Valli gives an appropriately outsized lead performance, matched by Farley Granger, surprisingly effectively as a cad. This mismatched duo promises to set sparks flying, and Senso starts out as an enjoyable melodrama.

Unfortunately, Visconti then tries to inflate Senso into an Italian Gone With the Wind. The second half features gorgeous location photography and expansive battle scenes as the Italo-Austrian conflict gets underway. These scenes are viscerally impressive but seem self-contained, scarcely tied to our heroes' anguished lust. Even Roberto vanishes long before the climax, his underground organization a disposable plot device. Worse though, neither Livia nor Mahler grows beyond their initial characterization. Later reels strain for epic tragedy that its shallow protagoniss haven't remotely earned.

Senso is ultimately underwhelming. At best it's a dry run for The Leopard, a much better-rounded epic. But man, is it lovely to watch.